i just planned on making a baby quilt from that pattern - but haven't secured the pattern yet! the idea is to use red, pink, blue and green!

Congratulations, Melissa! I can't wait to see your baby version of the quilt.

I also wanted to share a small piece of embroidery that I recently completed. I participated in the Wild Olive Stitch Swap, hosted by the very talented Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive. I've been a big fan of Mollie's for a long time now -- pretty much since I first started embroidering and came across her blog (and her adorable patterns which can be found in her Etsy shop).

Mollie recently organized a small embroidery swap -- small not because of how many people participated, but because we only had to stitch up a small piece for our partner! The idea was quite genius, actually -- we were limited to a 4" embroidery hoop, which helped this to be a very low-stress and manageable swap to complete.

I was paired with Julia from the U.K., who indicated that she loves woodland creatures, and her favorite colors include green and gold. I knew immediately that I wanted to stitch up one of Lizzy's foxes.

First, I tried to stitch up a cute little silver fox on a green woodgrain background:

Err, I know foxes are sly and all, but you can barely see the little guy. So I started over, this time trying out a gold floss with some dark green accents.

Yuck. I just wasn't feeling that color combination either. I decided to try one more time -- and this one had to work, because I don't do nothin' four times over.

Ah, just right. I ditched the woodgrain print -- which was a great idea in theory, but I just couldn't make it work -- and went with bolder colors on a solid white background. Much, much better.

Want to see the fantastic piece of embroidery I received from my secret partner?

This amazing little piece was stitched for me by Jen (aka eklundjen on Flickr). I absolutely love the work of artist (and embroidery pattern designer) Cate Anevski, and Jen stitched up one of my favorite patterns for me. Thanks, Jen! This one is going up in my cube at the office.

Hi John, Just letting you know I stopped by for the first time. I was following a circuitous path from freshly pieced, I think. As best as I can remember. The gear from guys. How nice to meet a male quilter. I'm going to link to you in a post on Bring the Monkey. I think my readers would like to know you're out there too - it's a testosterone-ish perspective. Happy quilting!

Oh and how rude of me - I meant to tell you I liked the fox stitching. I just posted today about the foxes - mother, father and three pups who have taken up residence under our garden shed here in Colorado - at http://www.theemptynestmom.com. I love the little creatures. Like your fox pattern.